“He threw me in the fire”: Dylan Harper “appreciates” Kevin Diverio for preparing for his journey to Rutgers
Dylan Harper had a lot of preparation to be ready for his collegiate basketball career at Rutgers coming out of Don Bosco Preparatory High School and AAU ball. His high school coach Kevin Diverio had a major role in this.
Harper shined as a growing prospect year after year, seeing his numbers rise as he started to garner national attention. In his senior campaign, he led Don Bosco to a 29-3 record and a national championship while averaging 22.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. This earned him McDonald's All-American recognition as one of the best high school players in the nation.
He ended up being a consensus five-star player by recruiting outlets, mainly being in the top two of the 2024 Class, behind the No. 1 prospect Cooper Flagg. While he had offers from powerhouse teams like Kansas, Duke, and Auburn among others, he decided to take his talents to Rutgers.
In an Instagram reel posted by GameUp NYC on Wednesday, Dylan Harper realizes that he wouldn't have been able to achieve what he has if Diverio hadn't made the decision to trust him from the beginning at Don Bosco.
"He put the ball my hands at a very young age. I was a freshman; probably shouldn't play varsity, probably shouldn't have started, but he threw me in the fire and told me he let me learn from my mistakes," he said.
"He was really one of the reasons why I am who I am today. So I just really like, I really appreciate him and like you don't have to go where it's like cool and stuff like that, like, you can make your own way, your own path, and make that cool."
Dylan Harper wins first collegiate award
Dylan Harper seems to be playing up to expectations after four games as a member of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. He is currently averaging 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per contest on 53.8% shooting from the field and 31.3% from beyond the arc.
His last two displays against Saint Peter's and Monmouth, where he put up 22 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and a block on 53.8% shooting overall, earned him his first collegiate award as he won Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
Harper became the first Rutgers player to win the award since his brother, Ron Harper Jr., back in 2019.
The Scarlet Knights are 4-0 to start the season after wins against Wagner, Saint Peter's, Monmouth, and Merrimack. They are averaging 80.5 points on 49.8% shooting from the field on offense while conceding 65.3 points on a shooting accuracy of 39.1%.
Dylan Harper and No. 24 Rutgers will seek to improve to 5-0 when they play Kennesaw State at the KSU Convocation Center on Nov. 24 at 1 p.m. ET.